I’ve read a handful of titles written by Jacquie Biggar in a few different genres, and one thing remains the same throughout—she doesn’t disappoint.

The Guardian absolutely doesn’t.

This novel plays the “what if” game and asks, “What if you’re the only survivor of a car crash that claims your sister and best friend—and your best friend comes back?”

No, this isn’t a weird Pet Sematary kind of thing. Lucas (the dead best friend) comes back in supernatural form. As an angel.

Oh, how I wish it were true and we could all see our loved ones again. (Not that life as an angel is all it’s cracked up to be for poor Lucas.)

This is a beautifully written tale of grief and hope. But before you write it off as too speculative or sappy, let me tell you about the murder mystery. And the red-hot romance.

Yes, Ms. Biggar has managed to wrap all that and more into a read-in-one-sitting novel. I tore through the pages, desperate to know if Scott and Tracy would lower their guards or harden their hearts. I needed to know if Lucas and Mike could put aside their differences to move on. I was desperate to find out who was behind it all and why.

Sorry; I’m not going to tell you. I highly recommend you read the book yourself for the answers to these questions and more. I enjoyed every word and eagerly began reading the second installment of the series the second I was done with this one.

This is the second book in Jacquie Biggar’s Mended Souls series, and I can’t believe I managed it, but I read it even faster than the first one.

We pick up not long after the first book ended, and we learn more about the relationship between begrudging teammates Lucas and Mike—or rather, we learn how much that relationship has degraded.

We also get to see how the survivors have moved on, particularly Julie, Mike’s widow. She’s now a reporter, and she’s stumbled onto a career-making story. It could be the big break she’s been hoping for. It could also spell disaster, as it lands her on a serial killer’s radar.

We get the chance to further explore the personal histories of the main characters while watching a romance bloom and a mystery unfold. The escalating stakes and the increasing inner turmoil (for all the characters) had me racing to the end.

I thoroughly recommend this second novel in the series for fans of supernatural suspense novels, and I’m eagerly awaiting the third.

I hope you join me in wishing Jacquie much success with this series. But maybe use those share buttons first?